90min

Premier League Preparing for Second Coronavirus Spike - Managers Concerned Over 'Covert' Training

By Matt O'Connor-Simpson

A Premier League match ball and a protective face mask
A Premier League match ball and a protective face mask / Visionhaus/Getty Images
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The Premier League is preparing for a second wave of coronavirus as shutdown restrictions are eased across the United Kingdom.

English football was suspended back in March but is set to return on Wednesday evening after a 100-day layoff.

Games may only just be getting going again but the Premier League is hastily making plans in the case of a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country. Non-essential businesses were permitted to re-open their doors on Monday, one of a number of relaxing measures brought in by the government in recent weeks.

The Premier League restarts on Wednesday
The Premier League restarts on Wednesday / Visionhaus/Getty Images

With human-to-human contact on the rise, a second wave is possible and Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has confirmed there are contingency plans in place for this eventuality.

“We will be going into next season with a clearer understanding of what is going to happen in various eventualities but everybody has learned an enormous amount which is going to help,” Masters said on Tuesday (via AP News).

“What we have learned is you have to be nimble and responsive and you have to have contingency plans.

“We know that there is a prospect of a second spike and we will be ready and anticipating of that in our planning and hoping to return to a full Premier League season.”

When asked about when fans could expect to return to football stadiums, Masters remained coy, revealing this would only be discussed when "it is safe and appropriate to do so."

Though supporters will not be in attendance, Aston Villa vs Sheffield United and Arsenal vs Manchester City will kick off the restarted season on Wednesday night.

Premier League clubs have been stepping up their preparations with a series of behind closed doors friendlies which have led to suspicions of cheating.

According to the Daily Mail, some bosses are baffled by the disparity in sides' fitness levels and believe some clubs have undertaken covert training sessions - breaching lockdown restrictions in the process.

The report even claims that special "snoop squads" were dispatched by some teams in an attempt to catch their rivals in the act earlier this year.